HB 272 Louisiana House · 2026 Regular Session

STUDENTS: Expands student eligibility for participation in the R.E.A.D. (Reading Enrichment and Academic Deliverables) program (EG +$2,600,000 GF EX See Note)

HB 272 expands Louisiana's R.E.A.D. program to include all students in elementary schools that received a "D" or "F" school performance grade in the prior year. It directly affects students in these low-performing elementary schools by requiring the state Department of Education to ship books quarterly, along with family literacy resources for at-home reading engagement. The bill mandates that schools distribute these materials to every prekindergarten through fifth-grade student. These changes aim to increase access to reading resources in schools needing academic support, as specified in the bill's new eligibility criteria and distribution requirements.

Issues: ✓ Education

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2026

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Feb 23, 2026 Last action Mar 25, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

HB272 Original → HB272 Engrossed · 2 edits

MINOR

The bill was amended to expand eligibility for the R.E.A.D. program by explicitly including students enrolled in elementary schools that received a 'D' or 'F' performance letter grade. This change clarifies that the state Department of Education must now provide quarterly book shipments and supplemental literacy resources to these specific schools, ensuring low-performing students receive the same support as those in other qualifying categories.

Scope change

The bill's scope was expanded to include students attending elementary schools with low performance ratings ('D' or 'F'), whereas the original text did not explicitly list this category.

ELIGIBILITY

Added a specific eligibility criterion for students enrolled in elementary schools that received a 'D' or 'F' performance letter grade in the most recent school year.

REQUIREMENT

Updated the program requirements to mandate quarterly book shipments and the distribution of supplemental family literacy resources to the newly included low-performing schools.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Mar 25, 2026

Committee

Read by title, ordered engrossed, recommitted to the Committee on Appropriations.

lower

Mar 24, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported favorably (14-0).

lower

Mar 9, 2026

Committee

Read by title, under the rules, referred to the Committee on Education.

lower

Feb 23, 2026

Committee

Under the rules, provisionally referred to the Committee on Education.

lower

1 primary · 3 co-sponsors